Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Learning about new things is one of the perks of being an
author. I was never much on following the rule of “write what you know,”
because for one thing I don’t know much, and for another, that’s just boring.

For my latest book I’m doing research on monsters from Greek
mythology. I took Greek mythology in grammar school and in college, but those
classes didn’t really focus on what I was interested in—those fantastic
creatures banished to the underworld by Zeus. And there is a butt-ton of them.

Cerberus is a three-headed, sometimes two-headed, sometimes
multi-headed dog (depending on who’s telling the tail...er...I mean tale). In
my story he ends up in Egypt, where he literally emerges from inside the Great Sphinx. His day job is to
guard the entrance to Hades, keeping the dead in and the living out. He’s big
and mean with snapping jaws full of teeth and huge, blood-dripping claws. He’s
also known as the Hellhound, so what’s not to like?

Medusa, one of the three Gorgon sisters, is disturbing to
even think about. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Clash of the Titans,” you know
what I mean. Her face is one that not even a mother could love, and instead of
hair, she has a head full of live, poisonous snakes. What’s cool about her is
that any human or beast that gazes into her eyes turns to stone. Well, it’s not
cool for the victims, but you know what I mean.

Imagine the Minotaur, with the head of a bull and the body
of a man, coming for you in the middle of the night. He didn’t really have a
specific job in Greek literature, but hey, he looks cool, so who cares, right?
He fits right in with my battalion of havoc-wreaking monsters.

There’s also the Cyclops, who is the first to appear in my new
book to a couple of hikers in the Blue Ridge Mountains of all places. He’s got
one eye, a giant horn on his head and speaks ancient Greek, but with a loud,
booming, animalistic growl. There were supposedly three of these guys, but I’m
only using one in my story. He wears a robe, knows how to hunt and build a fire
and as I said, how to speak ancient Greek. Oh, and did I mention he’s twenty feet tall?

All the monsters in my story (tentative title: ORACLE OF THE
DEAD) also have supernatural powers given to them by...well, you’ll have to read
the book, which is still in its early stages, to find out.

I have used mythological monsters in pretty much all of my
books to date. The reason for that is I like to draw from actual mythology and add
a layer of realism to an otherwise fantastical story. I love reading stories
like that myself—Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, even Homer—all mixed fantasy with reality and created imaginative stories that still
resonate decades or centuries later. Hopefully, my books will do the same.

Find out what I'm up to by connecting with me on my website at tobytatestories.com and don't forget to sign up for my email newsblast while you're there!

About Me

Born to a band of traveling Gypsies, I eventually married a barmaid from Oshkosh and became a wealthy door to door fork salesman. Sometimes I write stories and enjoy playing the ukulele on Tuesdays with my hardcore polka/metal band, "The Traveling Gypsies."